{"id":626,"date":"2014-07-17T10:21:47","date_gmt":"2014-07-17T08:21:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/startupxplore.com\/en\/blog\/?p=626"},"modified":"2018-12-03T17:07:46","modified_gmt":"2018-12-03T16:07:46","slug":"business-angels-in-spain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/startupxplore.com\/en\/blog\/business-angels-in-spain\/","title":{"rendered":"Looking for funding? Top 14 business angels in Spain you should meet"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>It&#8217;s no secret that <strong>angel investors play a key role in the development of technology ecosystems<\/strong>, as many successful entrepreneurs decide to help up-and-coming startups with funding and mentorship.<\/p>\n<p>According to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.webcapitalriesgo.com\/descargas\/5912_06_14_970725929.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">Webcapitalriesgo<\/a>, in 2013 business angels, accelerators and incubators invested \u20ac21.2 million in Spanish startups, a 78% increase YoY, demonstrating that these investors are more active than ever. To help entrepreneurs understand who the most relevant Spanish business angels are, we&#8217;ve put together a list with 14 of the biggest names in the country. If you think someone else should be included in the list, please let us know in the comments.<\/p>\n<h2>Top 14 business angels in Spain you should meet<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/startupxplore.com\/en\/person\/yago-arbeloa\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Yago Arbeloa<\/strong><\/a>: the brother of Spanish professional football player \u00c1lvaro Arbeloa,\u00a0Yago has\u00a0been an angel investor since 2010. Based in Madrid, he&#8217;s invested in companies such as Really Late Booking (acquired by <a href=\"https:\/\/startupxplore.com\/en\/startups\/hot-hotels\" target=\"_blank\">Hot.es<\/a>), <a href=\"https:\/\/startupxplore.com\/en\/startups\/reclamador\" target=\"_blank\">Reclamador<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/startupxplore.com\/en\/startups\/ducksboard\" target=\"_blank\">Ducksboard<\/a> and more recently in <a href=\"https:\/\/startupxplore.com\/en\/startups\/we-are-knitters\" target=\"_blank\">We Are Knitters<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/startupxplore.com\/en\/startups\/percentil\" target=\"_blank\">Percentil<\/a>. Yago is also the president of Hello Media Group and the AIEI (Asociaci\u00f3n de inversores y emprendedores de Internet). Want to get in touch with him and get to know his investment strategy? Check his <a href=\"https:\/\/startupxplore.com\/en\/person\/yago-arbeloa\" target=\"_blank\">Startupxplore profile<\/a> out.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/startupxplore.com\/en\/person\/vicente-arias\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Vicente Arias<\/strong><\/a>: co-founder of <a href=\"https:\/\/startupxplore.com\/en\/startups\/offerum\" target=\"_blank\">Offerum<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/startupxplore.com\/en\/accelerators\/seedrocket\" target=\"_blank\">SeedRocket<\/a>, Vicente is also an active angel investor in Barcelona-based startups. He&#8217;s invested in companies such as <a href=\"https:\/\/startupxplore.com\/en\/startups\/ulabox\" target=\"_blank\">Ulabox<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.salir.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">salir<\/a>, or <a href=\"http:\/\/www.enalquiler.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">enalquiler<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/startupxplore.com\/en\/person\/carlos-blanco\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Carlos Blanco<\/strong><\/a>: one of the best known figures in\u00a0the Spanish startup ecosystem, especially in Barcelona and Catalu\u00f1a. Carlos is the co-founder of gaming startup <a href=\"https:\/\/startupxplore.com\/en\/startups\/akamon\" target=\"_blank\">Akamon Entertainment<\/a>, Barcelona-based accelerator <a href=\"https:\/\/startupxplore.com\/en\/accelerators\/conector\" target=\"_blank\">Conector<\/a> and the CEO of Grupo ITnet. As an angel investor he&#8217;s invested in companies such as <a href=\"https:\/\/startupxplore.com\/en\/startups\/deporvillage\" target=\"_blank\">Deporvillage<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/startupxplore.com\/en\/startups\/kantox-fx\" target=\"_blank\">Kantox<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/startupxplore.com\/en\/startups\/infantium\" target=\"_blank\">Infantium<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/startupxplore.com\/en\/person\/francois-derbaix\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Fran\u00e7ois Derbaix<\/strong><\/a>: Fran\u00e7ois is one of the most active angel investors in Spain, having backed at least 21 companies in the past few years, including <a href=\"https:\/\/startupxplore.com\/en\/startups\/tiendeo\" target=\"_blank\">Tiendeo<\/a>, Deporvillage, <a href=\"https:\/\/startupxplore.com\/en\/startups\/comunitae\" target=\"_blank\">Comunitae<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/startupxplore.com\/en\/startups\/startupxplore\" target=\"_blank\">Startupxplore<\/a>. As an entrepreneur, he co-founded <a href=\"https:\/\/startupxplore.com\/en\/startups\/rentalia\" target=\"_blank\">Rentalia<\/a> (acquired by <a href=\"http:\/\/www.idealista.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">idealista<\/a>), <a href=\"https:\/\/startupxplore.com\/en\/startups\/toprural\" target=\"_blank\">Toprural<\/a> (bought by HomeAway) and is now running <a href=\"https:\/\/startupxplore.com\/en\/startups\/soysuper\" target=\"_blank\">Soysuper<\/a>. His <a href=\"http:\/\/francoisderbaix.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">personal blog<\/a> is also a &#8216;must-read&#8217; for entrepreneurs and investors.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/startupxplore.com\/en\/person\/carlos-domingo\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Carlos Domingo<\/strong><\/a>: Carlos is the former president and CEO of Telef\u00f3nica I+D (R&amp;D). During his time at the Spanish telecom giant he also sat on the board of Wayra, Tuenti and TokBox. As an investor he&#8217;s backed companies such as <a href=\"https:\/\/startupxplore.com\/en\/startups\/blink\" target=\"_blank\">Blink Booking<\/a> (acquired by Groupon) and <a href=\"https:\/\/masterbranch.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">Masterbranch<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/startupxplore.com\/en\/person\/jesus-encinar\" target=\"_blank\">Jes\u00fas Encinar<\/a><\/strong>: best known as the founder of Idealista, Jes\u00fas has also invested in various Spanish startups such as <a href=\"http:\/\/www.asesorseguros.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">AsesorSeguros<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/startupxplore.com\/en\/startups\/etece\" target=\"_blank\">Etece<\/a>. He&#8217;s also a member of the advisory board of <a href=\"https:\/\/startupxplore.com\/en\/investors\/seaya-ventures\" target=\"_blank\">Seaya Ventures<\/a>, the VC firm co-founded by Beatriz Gonz\u00e1lez and Michael Kleindl that has invested in <a href=\"https:\/\/startupxplore.com\/en\/startups\/cabify\" target=\"_blank\">Cabify<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/startupxplore.com\/en\/startups\/ticketea\" target=\"_blank\">Ticketea<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/startupxplore.com\/en\/startups\/restalo\" target=\"_blank\">Restalo<\/a> since its inception in mid 2013.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/startupxplore.com\/en\/person\/marek-fodor\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Marek Fodor<\/strong><\/a>: after co-founding the online travel agency <a href=\"https:\/\/startupxplore.com\/en\/startups\/atrapalo\" target=\"_blank\">Atrapalo<\/a> and serving as CTO for 8 years, Marek is currently the chairman of <a href=\"https:\/\/startupxplore.com\/en\/blog\/fintech-startups-europe\/\" target=\"_blank\">fintech<\/a> startup Kantox. He&#8217;s also an active angel investor, having backed Deporvillage, <a href=\"https:\/\/startupxplore.com\/en\/startups\/peertransfer\" target=\"_blank\">peerTransfer<\/a> or Kantox.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/startupxplore.com\/en\/person\/bernardo-hernandez\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Bernardo Hern\u00e1ndez<\/strong><\/a>: Bernardo has developed his career at both sides of the ocean. In the US he previously was the Director of Product Management at Google and these days he&#8217;s running Flickr&#8217;s product division. In Spain he co-founded Idealista and <a href=\"https:\/\/startupxplore.com\/en\/startups\/fever\" target=\"_blank\">Fever<\/a>. He was also one of the first investors in <a href=\"https:\/\/startupxplore.com\/en\/startups\/tuenti\" target=\"_blank\">Tuenti<\/a>, the social network acquired by Telef\u00f3nica. As an angel investor he&#8217;s backed <a href=\"https:\/\/startupxplore.com\/en\/startups\/the-mad-video\" target=\"_blank\">The Mad Video <\/a>and Mallorca-based accelerator <a href=\"https:\/\/startupxplore.com\/en\/accelerators\/mola-com\" target=\"_blank\">Mola.com<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/startupxplore.com\/en\/person\/walter-kobylanski\" target=\"_blank\">Walter Kobylanski<\/a><\/strong>: co-founder of <a href=\"https:\/\/startupxplore.com\/en\/startups\/gigas\" target=\"_blank\">Gigas<\/a>\u00a0and based in Madrid, Walter and his brother Christian recently founded Danka Capital, an investment vehicle that&#8217;s looking to back early stage companies. As an angel investor, he&#8217;s\u00a0invested in <a href=\"https:\/\/startupxplore.com\/en\/startups\/touristeye\" target=\"_blank\">TouristEye<\/a> (acquired by Lonely Planet), <a href=\"https:\/\/startupxplore.com\/en\/startups\/jugo\" target=\"_blank\">Jugo<\/a> and Ducksboard.<\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/startupxplore.com\/en\/person\/juan-margenat\" target=\"_blank\">Juan Margenat<\/a><\/strong>: Juan is the co-founder of Barcelona-based startup <a href=\"https:\/\/startupxplore.com\/en\/startups\/marfeel\" target=\"_blank\">Marfeel<\/a> and is also an advisor to Conector. Previous to Marfeel he also founded Weekendesk Iberia (sold to Smart&amp;Co) and PlanB!. He&#8217;s invested in fintech darling Kantox, as well as Offerum, Deporvillage and <a href=\"https:\/\/startupxplore.com\/en\/startups\/habitissimo\" target=\"_blank\">Habitissimo<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/startupxplore.com\/en\/person\/jesus-monleon\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Jes\u00fas Monle\u00f3n<\/strong><\/a>: Jes\u00fas has a lot of experience in creating and investing in companies. In 2000 he founded <a href=\"https:\/\/startupxplore.com\/en\/startups\/emagister\" target=\"_blank\">emagister<\/a> and more recently Offerum; he also worked as an investment associate at <a href=\"https:\/\/startupxplore.com\/en\/investors\/caixa-capital-risc\" target=\"_blank\">Caixa Capital Risc<\/a> for 7 years, backing both mature and early stage companies. His activity as angel investor includes the likes of <a href=\"https:\/\/startupxplore.com\/en\/startups\/dada-company\" target=\"_blank\">DADA Company<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/startupxplore.com\/en\/startups\/deporvillage\" target=\"_blank\">Deporvillage<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/startupxplore.com\/en\/startups\/chicfy-com\" target=\"_blank\">Chicfy<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/startupxplore.com\/en\/person\/jose-a-del-moral-1\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Jose A. Moral<\/strong><\/a>: Jose is based in Bilbao and has been involved in\u00a0the technology sector for more than 15 years. After co-founding Ya.com and Alianzo he&#8217;s become an angel investor, having invested in Spanish startups <a href=\"http:\/\/chicisimo.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">Chicismo<\/a> or <a href=\"http:\/\/agoranews.es\/\" target=\"_blank\">Agora News<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/startupxplore.com\/en\/person\/axel-serena\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Axel Serena<\/strong><\/a>: Axel is the CEO of <a href=\"https:\/\/startupxplore.com\/en\/startups\/vittalia\" target=\"_blank\">Vittalia<\/a> and has more than 20 years of experience in internet businesses. As an angel investor he&#8217;s got a porfolio of more than 15 companies, including the likes of Akamon, Tiendeo, <a href=\"https:\/\/startupxplore.com\/en\/startups\/appszoom\" target=\"_blank\">Appszoom<\/a> or <a href=\"http:\/\/popplaces.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">PopPlaces<\/a>. He&#8217;s based in Barcelona and if you want to know his investment strategy don&#8217;t hesitate to check\u00a0his <a href=\"https:\/\/startupxplore.com\/en\/person\/axel-serena\" target=\"_blank\">Startupxplore profile<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/startupxplore.com\/en\/person\/martin-varsavsky\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Mart\u00edn Varsavsky<\/strong><\/a>: famous for founding and selling tech juggernauts such as Jazztel or Ya.com -and more recently Fon- Mart\u00edn has also been an active investor in startups for over a decade. Through <a href=\"https:\/\/startupxplore.com\/en\/investors\/jazzya-investments\" target=\"_blank\">Jazzya Investments<\/a>, his investment arm, he&#8217;s backed over 30 companies. <a href=\"https:\/\/startupxplore.com\/en\/startups\/hipertextual\" target=\"_blank\">Hipertexual<\/a>, Hootsuite, <a href=\"https:\/\/startupxplore.com\/en\/startups\/busuu\" target=\"_blank\">Busuu<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/startupxplore.com\/en\/startups\/meneame\" target=\"_blank\">Men\u00e9ame<\/a> and of course Tumblr, acquired by Yahoo in 2013 for $1 billion.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>There\u00a0are certainly more\u00a0business angels investing in Spanish startups at an early stage. If you have suggestions, please let us know in the comments!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It&#8217;s no secret that angel investors play a key role in the development of technology ecosystems, as many successful entrepreneurs decide to help up-and-coming startups with funding and mentorship. According to Webcapitalriesgo, in 2013 business angels, accelerators and incubators invested \u20ac21.2 million in Spanish startups, a 78% increase YoY, demonstrating that these investors are more [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":633,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[50],"tags":[60,31,55],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/startupxplore.com\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/626"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/startupxplore.com\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/startupxplore.com\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/startupxplore.com\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/startupxplore.com\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=626"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/startupxplore.com\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/626\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3117,"href":"https:\/\/startupxplore.com\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/626\/revisions\/3117"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/startupxplore.com\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/633"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/startupxplore.com\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=626"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/startupxplore.com\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=626"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/startupxplore.com\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=626"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}